Alloy Entertainment: What will we learn about A this season and will we get any significant clues about his/her identity?
JD: Yes, you will. When I think about what we’re doing over the next few episodes, it’s some of the most aggressive storytelling we’ve done. And that means we have quite a bit at stake; we want to create a good simmer before we go right for the big shocker this winter season. You’ll learn a lot – but you’ll learn it in a very unexpected way.

Alloy Entertainment: It’s honestly amazing what you and the writers do. You have to map out so many episodes year after year — for a serial drama no less — and you still manage to create so much intrigue and suspense.
JD: It’s always exciting, but it can also create dizziness and vertigo. [Laughs.]

Alloy Entertainment: As much as we hate the fact that Mona died in PLL 5×12, the flashbacks of her have been tremendous. Will we be seeing more of her and has she left the girls any significant clues?
JD: I would say yes and yes to that question. That little taste you got of her in her bedroom in the [Season 5 winter] premiere? I revisit it in episodes that I’ve done and I know others have as well. There’s a lot more to be uncovered there. As for the other flashbacks, they’re kind of like the original Ali ones seeing as there’s quite a bit of material in them for the girls to chew, decode, and figure out.

Alloy Entertainment: Speaking of Ali, how will life in the clink work out for her? In our personal opinion, we can picture her ruling over the joint.
JD: When I think about Ali’s situation right now, I’d say that this is not a world she’s prepared to be part of. This is somebody who only knows how to control, and ironically she’s stuck in a place where she doesn’t have any control. It’s interesting to watch Sasha [Pieterse] play the part because this a very challenged [version of] Alison. She’s in a tough environment and definitely does not want to be there.

Alloy Entertainment: In the Christmas special, we found out that Ali and Detective Holbrook are sort of an item. Will he be using his connections within the police department to help her out? Or is he using her the way she’s used so many other people?
JD: For the first part of the winter season, Holbrook is operating in the shadows. He’s still sort of a presence with the girls and is acting against them. But, he will make a rather dramatic return halfway through the season.

Alloy Entertainment: Oh goodness. He was so creepy when he confronted Aria at the Ice Ball and revealed his dark side. We were all, ‘Get outta here you!’
JD: Ohhhhh…we have darkness yet to come. [Laughs.] We are actually doing something we’ve never done before. Since the beginning [of the show], we’ve always been a little more dangerous. When ABC Family first decided to put us on the air we wondered how much they’d let us do or get away with — but they’ve been nothing short of supportive, especially in terms of the scarier, darker stuff. I think this is one of the main reasons why PLL stands out the way that it does. There’s some crazy stuff coming up and I’d say this is season you should definitely not watch the show alone.

Alloy Entertainment: Will Mona’s and Bethany’s murder cases be resolved in Season 5B? Or is there more to each mystery than meets the eye?
JD: We are moving towards a resolution. The perfect scenario would be if the fans figured it a half a second before we revealed the answer. So we want to play it fair and we want everyone to participate in the investigation before we share this one huge clue. There’s a lot to be revealed in this first half of the season.

Alloy Entertainment: The synopsis for PLL 5×16 teases that A is trying to frame Hanna for murder. Why Hanna though? Hasn’t she suffered enough?
JD: You know what, when I think of Hanna throughout the past few seasons, she’s changed so much. She truly reinvented herself. People used to like to point out, particularly when they saw Sasha [Pieterse] and Ashley [Benson] together onscreen, how much Hanna tried to be like Ali. I think Hanna at the start of the show was a bit of a victim — I’m sorry, a target rather; she was not 100% confident in herself and her abilities, but you’re definitely going to see that confidence grow. She’s a tough little cookie who’s currently trying to find the non Ali-inspired version of herself.

Alloy Entertainment: That’s a great way of putting it — the non-Ali Hanna. In general, the girls really seem to be breaking away from Ali this season, and they basically handed her over to Detective Tanner in “Through The Glass, Darkly.”
JD: Well, is it a betrayal or is it being true to yourself? Sometimes it’s both and sometimes it’s neither. What happened at the end of episode 5×14 is veeeery complicated and is going to keep on echoing throughout the rest of Season 5B.

Alloy Entertainment: What surprised us most was that Emily participated in the plot to set Ali up…only to discover that Ali maybe isn’t A after all. How will this “betrayal” affect their dynamic?
JD: When it comes to Ali, Emily never really knows what her emotions are towards this girl. She takes a step back, she takes a step forward. She’s willing to do this, she’s willing to do that, but she also questions her. I would say that basically out of the four primary Liars, Emily is least like the girl that Alison left behind. Emotionally speaking, she’s a totally different young woman. And I think Emily’s still trying to figure out what her relationship with Ali is.

Alloy Entertainment: Lijah Barasz mentioned that you wrote all the scenes between Emily and Paige in the winter premiere, and we just want to commend you on a job well done. They were heartbreakingly beautiful! That being said, how did the writers reach the decision to send Paige away and will she back in any capacity?
JD: Thank you so much! Shay and Lindsey were so great, weren’t they? They truly did an incredible job with those scenes. As for your question: From a storytelling perspective, people who are in happy relationships and have been together for a long time don’t provide a lot of drama — so we have to challenge them somehow. And one of the ways you challenge a couple is you separate them to see what happens. We have not come to any final decisions about what’s going to happen to Paige and Emily beyond Season 5; we have not seen the last of Paige. Basically what we all felt is that it was time to put one of the significant others at a safe distance and see how it’d all play out. And when you think about it, it’s very rare on our show that any of the girls’ love interests is actually safe; it’s dangerous to be romantically involved with a Pretty Little Liar. Any time their significant others try to help, it just creates more jeopardy.

Alloy Entertainment: Speaking of relationship drama, hear that tension is brewing between Spencer and Toby. What causes a rift between the two and will they be able to resolve their issues?
JD: It’s his job actually. I think he assumed that becoming a cop would allow him to assist Spencer and her friends in a way that’s not working out. The good news though is that he’s taking his job seriously and feels a tremendous sense of duty. As of now, there seem to be two main forces at play: what would work best for the girls versus what he feels would be appropriate in terms of the job he’s sworn to do. What you see [in episode 5×15] — of how he reacts to finding the knife in the woods — is just the beginning of his internal conflict.

Alloy Entertainment: Ezra and Aria have been going strong despite the crime novel incident. What’s the forecast on their romance? Will Aria’s college woes interfere — perhaps even, um, Jackie Molina?
JD: Wow! That’s a loaded one. [Laughs.] I can’t tease too much about Ezra and Aria’s relationship right now. You’ll have to wait and see what happens. However, I can tell you that Jackie’s return is not directly related to any of the criminal investigations.

Alloy Entertainment: There are so many storylines happening in Season 5. Which character, in your professional opinion, will surprise viewers the most and why?
JD: A lot of storylines? Oh brother, don’t I know it. Don’t I know it! [Laughs.] But in response to your question….You know I could be really coy and say Mona. However, I think you really have to keep an eye on Mike Montgomery. And out of the four girls? [Insert dramatic pause.] I think all of them, including Ali basically, they’re all forced to look at themselves in ways they haven’t before and this will reflected through the decisions they make. They are trying to see how they can move forward with their lives — and if it’s even possible. But, coming back to my initial response, I’m really intrigued by what’s going on with Mike.